Vermivora cyanoptera
The Blue-winged Warbler (Vermivora cyanoptera) is a petite and vibrant New World warbler, easily recognized by its bright yellow plumage, olive-green back, and striking blue-gray wings adorned with two prominent white wing bars. A slender black line through the eye further distinguishes this species, complementing its finely pointed bill. Measuring about 11.5-12.5 cm (4.5-5 in) in length, with a wingspan of 18-19 cm (7-7.5 in) and weighing a mere 8-10 grams, it is a delicate yet hardy migrant...
This warbler primarily favors open woodlands, shrubby fields, regenerating clearcuts, and forest edges, typically at low to mid-elevations.
Primarily insectivorous, feeding on caterpillars, beetles, spiders, and other small invertebrates gleaned from foliage, supplemented with small berries in late summer.
Blue-winged Warblers are diurnal and actively forage during daylight hours, often gleaning insects from the undersides of leaves and twigs in dense undergrowth, or hovering briefly to snatch prey. Males are highly territorial during the breeding season, establishing and defending their territorie...
The Blue-winged Warbler breeds across a broad swath of eastern and central North America, from southern Quebec and Ontario, south through the Great Lakes region, New England, the mid-Atlantic states, and the Appalachian Mountains to northern Georgia. Its range has expanded northwards in some area...
Least Concern
- The Blue-winged Warbler is famous for its hybridization with the Golden-winged Warbler, producing two distinctive hybrid forms: 'Brewster's Warbler' (dominant inheritance) and the much rarer 'Lawrence's Warbler' (recessive inheritance). - Their nests are almost always on the ground or very low ...